The supercyclone Amphan hits Asia, 12 dead

 Cyclone Amphan, the most powerful of the last 20 years, has hit the ground and is lashing eastern India and Bangladesh with violent rains and winds over 160 kilometers per hour. At least 12 people lost their lives and 5,500 homes were destroyed in West Bengal, but it is only the beginning pending the eye of the hurricane that should hit Calcutta and the surrounding area in the evening.At immediate risk there are at least 300 thousand people in coastal areas. In the capital of West Bengal, violent storms are breaking down, causing floods while gusts of wind have uprooted trees. Much of the city is in the dark because electricity has been cut as a precaution to avoid accidents. Fears of meteorologists are growing for a tsunami with waves that could reach five meters.
    More than three million people have been evacuated between India and Bangladesh and the authorities have turned schools and other buildings into shelters.
    But the situation is complicated by the measures in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus epidemic. There are no conditions to keep the right distance, the masks are rare and many have refused to take shelter in fear of contracting the infection, as West Bengal police told the BBC. Bangladesh has made more than 15 thousand shelters accessible, three times the usual number, and has announced that it has sent masks and disinfectant solutions, but the fear of Covid-19 in many cases has prevailed.
    In India, to make matters worse, thousands of migrant workers who continue to leave cities to return to their villages due to the coronavirus. Among the states that have the most returns are West Bengal and Orissa, the ones where Cyclone Amphan will hit hardest. Air flights are suspended on both states and Orissa has canceled the trains that were supposed to arrive between 18 and 20 May with thousands of migrants. The general manager of Save the Children in India has made it known that he is ready to bring aid. The organization in Bangladesh is also on the alert. Director Mark Pierce said Save the Children teams are able to intervene in Cox's Bazar "where nearly one million Rohingya refugees live in fragile bamboo and tarpaulin shelters in the world's largest refugee settlement."